Thursday, October 28, 2010

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Priscilla Susman — accused of causing last month’s fatal accident on Highway 154 — was placed under arrest yesterday morning on charges of manslaughter and felony driving under the influence. Susman suffered serious injuries in the multi-car collision and had been recuperating at Cottage Hospital since the accident on September 15.

CHP

Priscilla Susman

According to CHP spokesperson Jeremy Wayland, officers were present with an arrest warrant when Susman was discharged and immediately took her into custody.

Susman, owner of Paradise Store on Paradise Road just off Highway 154, was reportedly driving eastbound on the 154 at around 8:20 p.m. along the curved portion of the road between Stagecoach Road and East Camino Cielo Road when her car slammed into the side of a Pontiac that was also traveling eastbound.

The impact, said Wayland, caused both cars to spin out of control into the westbound lanes and directly into the path of three oncoming vehicles. One of the cars was driven by 73-year-old Solvang resident Liesel Elizabeth Ryden, who suffered fatal injuries as a result of the ensuing collision and passed away soon after.

All of the other drivers involved were hurt, some seriously.

Comments

Logic would dictate that if you live & work in that area you must then KNOW the hazards of driving that road NOT under the influence of alcohol or drugs. So what on God's green Earth would possess somebody, w/ said knowledge, to drive a vehicle in that area UNDER THE INFLUENCE?! :) henry

You can put this 1, as well as many others like it, on the "it's a disease, not a crime" crowd. Give me a break already! Don't bore me w/ the obvious. It ain't the alcoholism that caused the wreck, it was lack of common sense, judgement & just downright disregard for other lives, as is usually the case when something like this happens.But here's a surprise for that crowd: There's MANY folks w/ this "disease" that won't drive when they're drunk (which is most of the time since it's a "disease").This person chose to take the wheel of a car while intoxicated & look what happened :) henry

This is just another example of crappy Indy reporting. This piece says, "...her car slammed into..." Yet if you go to the link at the end of the article, it says, "...Susman’s vehicle purportedly hit the left side of another car..." Hitting the left side of a car going in the same direction is not the same as slamming into. The Indy lack of good editors is soooo obvious.

Settle down, lesson here is we all get to watch a women's life become ruined, and deservedly so, let this be a lesson to all the smug substance abuse people who get behind the wheel and wander down the road. In one minute she was headed to the safety of her home and now she is headed to State Prison. No fun, no winners.

The phrase "passed away" struck me, too. The reporters are sometimes pretty unprofessional these days at the Indy, perhaps student interns or just inexperienced newbies. Money is tight and it is showing up in the writing. Even "as a result of the ensuing collision" doesn't quite work.

AZ2SB : The events have been reported and we surely all agree that it was a tragedy for all involved. Driving under the influence is immoral, illegal, and obviously sometimes causes serious injury and death. There's not a lot to say beyond that.

But someone could do something about some of the weak writing that's showing up in some of the news items. (If this were for "publication" I'd edit out some of the "somes" in that last sentence.)

Hi...Let's not forget that if "Presumed Alcoholic"- Priscilla Sussman owned the Paradise Store and lived in Santa Barbara then she must have driven 154 many times.. she could have killed people every single time she drove her car!!

For this reason I believe that she was aware of what she was doing when she got in her car drunk and did not for one minute ever think about anyone but herself! She needs to go to jail for a long time.. maybe that will detox her and teach her to think of others besides herself!

Maybe if people stopped driving drunk/or drugged then 154 would not be such a scary place to drive. Everybody needs to learn some patience when it comes to that road in my opinion... enjoy the ride, but keep your eyes on the road.Thanks